


Julipart cake

by Kiwi_Strawberry_Banana



Category: The Dark Crystal (1982), The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (TV)
Genre: Breakfast and garments, Fluff, Sappy, This is just pure sappiness honestly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:15:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22731589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiwi_Strawberry_Banana/pseuds/Kiwi_Strawberry_Banana
Summary: In the early morning, two Skeksis prepare gifts for their most dearest loved ones.
Relationships: skekAyuk/skekEkt (Dark Crystal)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	Julipart cake

The three sisters moonlight shone brightly on the Castle of the Crystal as they began their slow descent, making way for the three brothers to awaken. Yet there was still a few hours of moonlight light, a few hours before the first birds of the morning would sing their sickly sweet songs. With that in mind, a lone Skeksis went about the halls, doing his best to keep quiet.

He did not keep quiet because he was up to anything nefarious, oh no. The only nefarious thing the Gourmand got up to was binge eating and stealing food. No, nothing nefarious from him at this time. Instead, he wore a giddy smile as he quietly walked through the halls, tiptoeing ever so gently past a particular door that always smelled strongly of perfume.

He stopped tiptoeing for a moment and lingered by the door, enjoying the smell so much…

But he couldn't dally, not today. With a shake of his head he continued onward, down the stairs, past more rooms until he finally entered his domain.

The Skeksis kitchens in all their glory. Stoves pristinely cleaned every night, not a crumb to be found on the floor, cabinets stocked high with only the finest and most delectable of ingredients. SkekAyuk inhaled deeply, always savoring the moments he could be alone in his kitchen without all the Podlings chattering away in their language.

Going to the pantry, he began to gather all the necessary ingredients. Bramble flour, crushed pointels, katyaken eggs, some wo'lo oil…

Once he gathered most of what he needed, skekAyuk made his way to the large chest in the back of the kitchen. Grabbing the key out of a pocket in his robe, he unlocked the chest and pried it open, shivering at the cold gust of air that went past him as he did so.

With a big smile, he reached into the cold chest, pulling out a large, glowing red vial; Julipart venom. Incredibly dangerous, incredibly lethal… But when boiled for exactly one hour, the venom the tastiest, most delectable non lethal sauce on all of Thra. There was no amount of spices or meats that skekAyuk could use to make a dish that came close to the delicacy that was boiled Julipart venom.

The venom spoiled quickly, however, so skekAyuk made a deal with the Scientist. He had him build a container to keep ingredients fresh for longer and, in exchange, skekAyuk would save scraps for the Scientists animals. 

Frankly, skekAyuk would have made a buffet for the weaklings animals if that is what it would have taken to have such a marvelous cooling device. The vial of venom was cool to the touch and glowed strongly.

"Perfect!"

If the venom was no longer glowing, that would have been a sign that it wouldn't be any good in cooking. Once the venom stopped glowing, it became so bitter that not even the Gourmand himself could incorporate it into a dish. But no, the venom was perfect for what he had planned.

Gently setting the glowing concoction amongst the other array of ingredients, skekAyuk pulled on his tattered apron, pulled up his sleeves and began to work.

\---

With a large, toothy yawn, skekEkt stretched all four of his arms, careful of the large amount of fabrics in his lap. Wiping his eyes, he looked with a tired giddiness at the garment before him.

It had been some trine since he made the Gourmand a new set of robes instead of just altering the ones he already wore and the Ornamentalist had been determined to get every stitch just right.

Every piece of fabric had been painstakingly thought over, every single bead and ornament incorporated into the shoulders and stomach were meant to be just right. Most of all, however, the collar that skekAyuk would be given would be white and iridescent, one of the greatest collars skekEkt had ever made.

With another yawn he stretched his back, wincing at how loudly it popped. He had grossly underestimated how long the entire ensemble would take and, on top of both the Emperor and Ritual Master both giving him garments that needed urgent mending, the Ornamentalist had stayed up for three nights straight without sleep.

As he held up the large garment, surveying it for any faults, skekEkt could help but giggle to himself at just how beautiful it was.

The giggling was short stopped by the clawing hunger in his stomach.

Swallowing hard, skekEkt suddenly remembered two things. One, that he had skipped dinner that night in order to work more on the outfit, and two, that looking out the window and seeing the first brothers light barely off on the horizon, breakfast wouldn't be for another four or five hours at least.

Debating his options, wondering if he can deal with the growling of his stomach for a few more hours, realizing that some Nebrie cheese on some bramble bread sounds absolutely divine, skekEkt quickly gathered the collar as he slowly tiptoed his way to the kitchen to grab a quick snack, working on the collar along the way.

\---

When skekAyuk found the Podling in charge of freshness checks, he was going to skin them alive and serve them for the Skeksis' next dinner.

If it wasn't for how early it was, skekAyuk would likely be yelling his beak off at the moment as he put a hand over his nose and dumped the stinking bowl into the trash bin.

Evidently, the katyaken eggs had gone rotten, the smell still lingering in the kitchen, making skekAyuk want to gag as much as he wanted to yell.

As important as katyaken eggs were for the dish, the Julipart venom was the most important part. Once he checked to make sure it was boiling at only the right temperature, skekAyuk went to the pantry, throwing out all the katyaken eggs and found some sogbird eggs.

They were about half the size of katyaken eggs, so he just grabbed double the amount and began to throw ingredients in, mixing it all together until it formed a nice, thick, white dough.

Once the sickly strong smell hit his nostrils, skekAyuk knew that the venom was done boiling. Looking, he could see the beautiful, golden color that always indicated that it was boiled in only the most perfect of ways.

"Just in time!" He pulled the venom off the heat, the sounds of the boiling bubbles loud and hissing.

Carefully, oh so carefully, he slowly poured the boiling venom in with the other mixed ingredients, slowly stirring as he did so, his anger towards the Podling forgotten as the batter began to glisten, looking like soft gold, the smell near indescribable yet so, so delicious that skekAyuk had to look to the side to wipe the drool from his mouth.

With careful talons, he poured the mixture into three small pans. One for him, one for skekEkt, and an extra just in case. Then, just as carefully and just as gently, he set them all in the oven, set a timer for exactly 32 minutes and 41 seconds, and finally sighed, looking out the window to see the second brothers light slowly peeking over the horizon.

"Just in time."

\---

Another yawn echoed through the hallways as skekEkt trudged on, going nearly as slowly as one of those wretched Mystics as he tiptoed down the hallway, eyes never leaving the collar as he sewed down each individual shining piece.

He had when he was almost to the kitchen that he hadn't put on any makeup and his hair was still in a messy bun. With a shudder he shook his head, not even wanting to think about just how awful he must look as he began to walk faster towards the kitchen.

Just as skekEkt was about to open the handle, he stopped and his blood ran cold upon hearing something clatter about in the kitchen.

'Who is in there?!' He thought, almost offended that someone aside from himself would be awake at this hour.

Now, skekEkt felt painfully conflicted. On one hand, his stomach was threatening to start eating itself if he didn't get something down. On the other hand, he imagined that he had more bags under his eyes than the Collector had in their collections.

Yet, that gnawing hunger was quickly pushing down the thought of his looks as he peeked in, trying to get a look at who would be in his Skeksis' kitchen so late.

Relief washed over skekEkt to see that it was skekAyuk in the kitchen, wearing a tired, goofy smile as he stared at the oven, completely mesmerized by whatever delicious concoction he had cooking in his oven.

That relief quickly changed to panic as he felt even more conflicted than before, for completely different reasons. He knew skekAyuk would never judge him no matter how awful he looked. SkekEkt could roll around in mud and gunk and skekAyuk would still see him as the most beautiful Skeksis, even if skekEkt didn't agree.

No, he looked at the collar in his talons, glistening from the sunrise light flittering through the windows. It was so, so close to being done, but it wasn't just yet and skekAyuk couldn't see it when it was unfinished. SkekEkt would rather show up to court without makeup for the next trine than have skekAyuk see his unfinished masterpiece.

With another careful peek after hearing more clatter, skekEkt watched as skekAyuk happily laughed to himself while pulling something from the oven. Though he couldn't see it, skekEkt could smell whatever his Skeksis was making and it smelled so, so good…

So good, in fact, that his stomach had to make a note of it, growling so loudly that the noise echoed in the kitchen. SkekAyuk stiffened, turning towards the door, making skekEkt squeak as he ran away down the halls, cursing his stomach and trying not to cry.

He was really hungry.

\---

That squeak was unmistakably skekEkts. Even if he didn't hear the squeak, skekAyuk wouldn't have mistaken the smell of that perfume that lingered by the door, same as he lingered when he went to check who could have been snooping on him.

In truth, he and skekEkt had been so busy for the past unum that they hadn't had much time for one another, which was why skekAyuk was trying to make their day special, but now he was worried.

His crawlie dumpling always had the bad habit of skipping meals in order to finish a new ensemble, something that skekAyuk usually kept in check. But with how busy he'd been, he hadn't had the time recently in order to remind skekEkt to relax and eat.

Looking to the three bowls still cooling, but done to absolute perfection, he suddenly got an idea as he began to gather a tray and other foods, right as the third brothers light began to peak through the windows.

\---

With a hefty sigh, skekEkt threw himself back onto his bed, feeling his plush blankets envelop him lovingly. He was tired, his eyes hurt, he pricked his fingers a few times, but finally he was done!

The weight on his lap from the outfit was comforting like a blanket, almost tempting skekEkt to sleep… If his stomach wasn't still gnawing away at him, demanding sustenance of any kind.

But skekAyuk was still in the kitchen and even though his outfit was done, skekEkt was saving it for-

The knock at his door startled him and after taking a moment to collect himself and to stop his heart from racing a mile a minute, skekEkt, oh so carefully, took the outfit from his lap and tucked it under his blankets, lest prying eyes see. He had an inkling as to who was knocking at his door, so he needed to be careful.

That inkling was confirmed when he opened the door a smidge to see that warm smile and those brown eyes that skekEkt adored.

"May I come in, crawlie dumpling?" skekAyuk asked, trying to be nonchalant as possible.

Even if he wanted to refuse, the smell of food that came from the covered tray that his Skeksis was holding was all too tempting and skekEkts stomach growled loudly once more, much to his embarrassment.

"O-of course" he stuttered as he hid his face, urging the Gourmand in.

Once the door was closed, the cover was removed from the tray and skekEkts stomach did flips, as did his heart.

Warm Nebrie milk to drink, chunks of snoutling mixed in with fried sogbird eggs, and…

"Is that Julipart cake?" skekEkt asked, his voice barely a whisper.

The smile from skekAyuk was all the confirmation as the Gourmand carefully set the tray down and opened his arms up to skekEkt.

"Happy anniversary, crawlie dumpling."

With a loud squeal, skekEkt threw himself into his Gourmands arms, feeling his body being hugged tightly, inhaling deeply, smelling the smell that was a bit rugged, a mixture of the spiciest spices and the sweetest of sweets, a smell that was so uniquely skekAyuk and a smell that none of his perfumes could ever hope to replicate.

His favorite smell.

"Thank you my love, my darling, oh you spoil me so!!" SkekEkt practically shrieked as he held onto his Skeksis, tiredness and hunger forgotten for the sake of loving his Gourmand.

SkekAyuk just chuckled, holding onto skekEkt for a moment longer before the sound of his crawlie dumpling's stomach rang throughout the room, much to skekEkts embarrassment. Letting go, the two sat at the small table in skekEkts room, saying nothing and enjoying the food.

Once skekEkt reached the Julipart cake, he couldn't contain himself as he cooed in delight at the taste. So rich, so intoxicating, so detailed and indescribable!

When skekEkt realized he had closed his eyes, he opened them only to see skekAyuk looking lovingly at him, slowly chewing his own morsel of Julipart cake.

"You're so beautiful, Ekt."

If anyone else said that when the Ornamentalist hadn't slept in days and was completely without makeup, he would be screeching at them, calling whoever said it a liar, asking what they could possibly want from him.

When skekAyuk said it, there was not an ounce of deception in the words he spoke. Only pure, sappy adoration. All for the Ornamentalist.

"You spoil me." skekEkt cooed once more, resting his hand on skekAyuks on the table, talons gently tapping against rough skin.

They continued to eat in silence, both much too engrossed in the cake to say much else or make any other noise aside from appreciative hums and coos. When they were both done, they were quiet for a moment longer, simply enjoying one another's company, gently caressing one another's hands.

"You should get some rest." skekAyuk spoke, voice soft and worried.

"But, it's our anniversary…"

Despite how disappointed and pitiful he sounded, skekEkt knew that he wouldn't be able to stay awake much longer. Everything felt like it was a fuzzy veil and he wanted nothing more than to be consumed by his bed for the next unum. Even so, today was their day and he didn't want to miss even a second of his time with his skekAyuk…

"Would you feel better if I said I wanted to take a nap with you?"

Almost instantly skekEkt perked back up, his smile strained behind his tiredness.

"I think that would make me feel much better!"

SkekAyuk laughed before holding skekEkts hand to his beak, pressing in the Skeksis equivalent of a kiss.

"I'll be back in a bit, let me go put on my sleeping robes." skekAyuk said as he got up, giving skekEkt a quick kiss before departing.

As soon as he was out of the door, skekEkt ran to his bed, prying the blankets off and setting the new garment up for display.

\---

Sleeping garments on and a glass of numsickle tea in hand, skekAyuk was looking forward to a day of rest and relaxation. He had already cleared his schedule the day before, even speaking with the Emperor personally for a personal day. Personal days weren't too uncommon amongst the Skeksis, but after everything with the Mariner and Heretic, skekSo tended to be more in everyone's business than before.

But the personal day had been granted and, excitedly, skekAyuk opened the door…

Only to be greeted by skekEkt sleeping on a stool, head rested against garments that only one Skeksis in the whole castle could fill.

The Gourmand contained his enthusiasm despite wanting nothing more than to shower his crawlie dumpling with praise and love. SkekEkt looked so peaceful as he slept, his red hair in a frazzled bun, some drool dripping down his chin.

He was truly the most beautiful Skeksis in the Castle.

Before getting to bed, skekAyuk looked at all the details. The golds, browns, and oranges, how the fabric around the stomach could stretch, the little beads and dangles that were so intricate and yet weren't bothersome or restraining.

But that collar, most of all, was skekAyuks favorite part, each square hand sewn and shone beautifully in the morning light. Touching the collar, the material was soft and comfortable and made of similar stretchy material that was around the stomach of the robes.

"Thank you, I love it." He whispered next to skekEkts head, earning a sleepy hum.

Chuckling, skekAyuk picked up skekEkt, feeling him nuzzle into his chest, and carried him to the large, plush perfume smelling bed. He set down skekEkt before crawling in bed himself, pulling his crawlie dumpling close to him, tea long since forgotten.

"I love you, Ekt." He whispered, eye lids already falling shut.

"Love you… my Ayuk…" skekEkt sleepily replied, smiling weakly as he settled in, arms wrapping around his Gourmand, falling into blissful sleep once more.


End file.
